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The Boyband Superfan Interrogation
Plot Wendy, Lacey, and Noser are trying to get illegal satellite and pick up Varsity Fanclub, the most popular boy band in the world. Lacey is a big fan and Noser and Wendy give her a hard time about it. Pip shows up and invites them to a gallery show he's hosting. Wendy is shocked to hear he's got a showing at a major gallery, The Gate. They check it out on the Internet and discover he's using Wendy's painting of a gun-wielding gorilla. The next morning, Wendy gets a call from Ida that there's an emergency: a rip in space. Before she heads in, she confronts Pip but he denies copying any of her paintings and notes there's no way she can prove it. He warns that if Wendy pursues the matter, he'll have his father kick them out. Wendy and the Middleman arrive at the Club Cairo to investigate the space rift, which has a duck caught in it. The Middleman tries to pass it off as their street magic act and then get the crowd to leave. The Middleman produces a warning cone to keep the crowd away and then retrieves the duck and takes it to HQ. As Ida runs a check, Wendy notices a box with new equipment: a truth bomb and a stun-field generator. When she tells the Middleman about her problems, the Middleman is furious at the idea of plagiarism. Ida pins something down but then a backlash knocks her out: there's another HEYDAR out there and she's being scanned. Ida "crashes", the Middleman reboots her and she has an address. The Middleman and Wendy head for the address, which belongs to a physicist, Dr. Elliot Marshall. En route Wendy gets a call from Lacey, who is preparing protest t-shirts. Wendy asks her to stop while The Middleman admits he's still mad about the whole thing. They confront Marshall who denies knowing anything about unusual technology. They look around his lab and find a HEYDAR that he doesn't seem to recognize, as well as a black box. Marshall goes to talk to his daughter Cindy while The Middleman notices that the lab tables are to low and the black box is missing a power source. They hear sounds of a struggle upstairs and confront Cindy, who has attacked her father. She throws lightning bolts at the agents and then grabs a box and flees, riding off on her bike at super speed. They talk to Marshall who is surprised at Cindy's actions and explains that the girl appeared on his doorstep one day and promised if he took her in, he'd get tenure at the local university. Cindy then forced him to steal equipment and then blackmailed him over the theft. He notes that besides the lab equipment, there's one other thing that stood out: she was obsessed with Varsity Fanclub. Ida calls to reveal she's done another HEYDAR scan and she's find five incrementally larger warp holes that have opened up at each of Varsity Fanclub's performances. The duo head for Varsity Fanclub's new performance in town and Lacey calls Wendy to inform her they've hired a lawyer: Joe 90. Joe 90 assures them they have a case but Wendy asks Lacey to drop it. The Middleman and Wendy talk to the band and claim to be a celebrity protection organization and the band has a threat against them. They offer a free security protection but the band refuses any help. Ida calls and reveals she's buying cookies from a Wilderness Girl: Cindy in disguise. The Middleman figures out that Ida is pretending to buy cookies, but Cindy figures out Ida is trying to send a message and knocks her out. The Middleman and Wendy return to HQ and find Ida missing her battery, but are seemingly unaware that Cindy is clinging to the ceiling. The Middleman notices, and detonates the stun bomb, taking out Cindy and Wendy. Wendy recovers consciousness as The Middleman confines Cindy and concludes she's an alien. The Middleman discovers that the black box is a reverse switch for a warp hole generator, and if the box is activated then Ida's battery will be depleted. The Middleman interrogates Cindy and she refuses to give up anything but her alien name, rank and serial number. He runs a search on the serial number and determines she's a rebel soldier from the Clothar galaxy. Her rebel army is opposing five alien tyrants and Cindy was sent to close warp holes. They get a message from the rebel war fleet's high commander, High Aldwin, informing them they are ordered to release Cindy and let her complete her mission. The Middleman demands an explanation and he explains that the dictators were exiled to Earth to live in disgrace, but they formed Varsity Fanclub, made millions of dollars, and built a device warping them back to Clothar V. Once the warp holes are closed, the dictators will be destroyed. High Aldwin warns that the Clotharian Rebel Fleet will open a warp hole to Earth and destroy the planet if they don't let Cindy complete her mission. The Middleman has no choice but to let Cindy go, but Wendy doesn't think Ida deserves to go out like that. He's reluctant to do so but has no choice. Wendy returns home to find Lacey lining up her paintings and telling Wendy they're crying for justice. Wendy reveals that Pip is blackmailing her with the threat of eviction, and refuses to let everyone sacrifice the sublet for them. Wendy returns to the temp agency where The Middleman is running the place without Ida. Wendy suggests they go to see Varsity Fanclub in concert and destroy their warp hole device before Cindy does. The Middleman has had the same idea and already bought tickets. The duo look for Cindy at the concert, unaware that she's arrived backstage and knocks out a security guard. Out front, Wendy realizes that the entire stage is a warp hole generator powered by the audience's screams of ecstasy. Varsity Fanclub begins singing "Scream Your Love for Me", a warp hole starts to form, and the Middleman and Wendy head backstage and find a wounded Cindy. Wendy finds the black box in Cindy's bag, and Cindy warns the black box is the only thing that can seal the warp hole. Cindy dies and then disappears in a burst of energy. The Middleman takes the box and activates it, and the band looks up as the warp hole closes, destroying them once and for all. A grieving Middleman and Wendy make a hasty exit. At The Gate, Pip is showing off "his" art while Wendy and the others tour the paintings. Wendy wishes him success, giving up, and Lacey threatens to stare at him until he renounces his sins. Pip isn't impressed. The Middleman arrives and says he's there to settle a score. He then puts the truth bomb in the food and Pip blurts out what he did and admits he's a talentless hack. He then runs screaming in terror and Wendy wonders if the Middleman is immune to the truth bomb. She asks him her name and he says his name is the same as his father's. Everyone else starts blurting out truths as well. Later, Lacey thinks she intimidated Pip and invites Wendy out for drinks, but she has something to do. Back at Middleman HQ, The Middleman is packing Ida away as Wendy arrives to thank him. She says goodbye to Ida, leaving a flower, and notes the irony that Ida would have hated her sacrifice saving Earth. The Middleman asks for a moment alone with Ida and plays "Taps." Wendy heads downstairs and spots a crate. Ida smashes her way out and eagerly wants to know why everyone's waiting around. Pop Culture References *In the scene where she first discovers Pip's plagiarism, Wendy Watson is wearing a shirt made by Clandestine Industries, a brand created by a member of noted pop-punk (if not actual boyband) Fall Out Boy. Trivia *"Scream Your Love for Me", Varsity Fanclub's swan song, was first referenced in the previous episode, "The Flying Fish Zombification"; Joe 90 challenges Noser's knowledge of the song during Stump the Band, and Noser comments, "By that cheesy boyband?" Music Quotes Characters and Locations Characters introduced in this episode: *Cindy Marshall *Dr. Elliot Marshall *Aldwin *Varsity Fanclub Category:Episodes